The biggest successes in business have been (or at least have been portrayed as) those individuals or companies who could deliver a product matched to a large scale need or want. Large scale could mean many low-budget consumers or a few large-budget businesses or both. Beyond matching a product to a need, success lies in marketing execution: price, place, and promotion.

In understanding needs and wants, Maslow’s Hierarchy provides a broadly-understood foundation or outline. Like other primal motivators, these needs manifest in a variety of ways at different scales. (For example, a desire for shelter may manifest as a desire to keep a job.) This only provides a rich and ever-changing set of opportunities: needs that, when met by a product, mean business success.

It is critical to meet and converse with people in person to understand their needs and test whether an offering or proposed offering meets their needs. This is the most important part of the inbound marketing function.